Cyprus Post is a government department, under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of
Communications and Works and is headed by a Director, who is responsible for the
administration, organization and supervision of the overall activities of the department.
Its responsibilities and functions are outlined under the Post Office Laws, Cap. 303,42 of
1968, 7 of 1977 and 43(I) 1994 with regard to its internal activities and 4(III) 1997
(Acts of the Universal Postal Union) in the international postal field.

Structure

Cyprus Postīs organizational structure comprises of the Headquarters in Lefkosia, five
District and forty-seven Branch Post Offices and four Parcel Post Offices. Nineteen of the
Branch Post Offices are in rural areas.

The Headquarters are responsible for the strategy, policy, planning and support
activities. The five District Post Offices (DPO) are accountable to the Headquarters and
form decentralized operational performance services. They are responsible for matters
pertaining to the organization, control, supervision and execution of all business and
services offered to the public. During the last two years they have also been assigned
responsibility of sales promotion in their district, mainly in the area of Datapost which
faces tough competition by private couriers.

Human Resources

The objective of Cyprus Postīs human resources policy is to make the organization a
competitive business, staffed by competent and committed employees. An important factor to
the success of Cyprus Post in acquiring a leading position in the market will be its
ability to generate new ideas and, above all, to implement them. It is through innovative
ideas and collective work that a new attitude and approach may be created for the benefit
of the customers. Towards these objectives, systematic and continuous training is of vital
importance.

The Staff

At the end of 1997 Cyprus Post employed some 470 people on a full-time basis. Compared
to the previous year, the total number of staff has remained the same. Additional
temporary staff was employed to cover seasonal needs. Cyprus Post also employs some 100
Postal Agents for the delivery of mail to large communities in rural areas.

Training and Development

Following an extensive examination of training requirements, a new programme was
launched in 1997. The aim was to enable staff to better meet the needs of customers and to
improve supervisory and managerial skills at all levels of Cyprus Post. It also aimed at
enabling employees to meet the requirements generated by the increasing competition.

During the year, all the delivery staff has received basic training. A number of
employees dealing with the day to day service of the public mainly at counters, attended a
training programme aiming at improving their approach to the customers and generally their
behaviour and relationships with the public. Medium level managers participated in a
course to enhance their managerial, supervisory and organizing skills and abilities.
Twenty officers took an active part in a two-day marketing workshop conducted by an
external expert in postal marketing. In addition two senior officers attended postal
management courses in the Netherlands and Germany which lasted four and two weeks
respectively.

Salary Costs

In 1997 salaries and wages amounted to CYP 5.242.837 showing an increase of 6.7 per
cent compared to the previous year. This corresponds to 47.6 per cent of the total revenue
and represents 74.8 per cent of the total costs.

Vacation Leave/Absenteeism

The total number of days for vacation leave during 1997, reached 11 269 days, while
absenteeism on account of sick leave was 3 091 days, an increase of 1.9 per cent and a
decrease of 7.8 per cent respectively compared to 1996.